Looking for Cigar Accessories?

Check this out

Welcome! CigarInspector.com is often updated with fresh reviews and cigar-related articles. To always stay up to date, consider subscribing to our updates by e-mail (gives you a chance to win cigars - click to learn more!) or via RSS!

The Hoyo de Monterrey Short Hoyo Corona is a pre-1960 release and it was discontinued in 2006. I really enjoy the Hoyo des Dieux and Double Corona vitolas but to me Hoyo de Monterrey is a marca I am still discovering. I love trying new cigars and this was the perfect one to do so. It was much shorter than anything I had ever tried in their portfolio. Hopefully it will match up to its bigger brothers.

Appearance : (because of the band) As I said in a previous review, I LOVE old bands. This one has great looks with some die cutting at the top to mimic a crown. It is much nicer than the current band. With a little research you can find that this band was in use until 2003. This is another way to date your cigars when you don’t have access to the box code.

The cigar itself is another story. It has a rough looking wrapper and it feels the same. It is colorado and has quite a few veins. This definitely won’t win a beauty pageant.

The triple cap is laid on properly but not in a skilful way like some higher end vitolas.

Construction : The Short Hoyo Corona feels like it is filled evenly. There is no sign of knots or plugs anywhere. The foot is looking decently full and equal. The tobacco seems to have been rolled with precision. There is a nice box press shape to this cigar.

This cigar is at least 8-9 years old and it doesn’t seem like age affected anything structurally. Hopefully, the flavours have benefited from this nap.

This cigar lets me give it a clean cut and shows a stellar draw, not too loose, not too tight, just a slight resistance. It allows me to smoke without having to think too much about it. Excellent.

Flavor : The pre-draw gives me some tobacco, some undefined wood and light spices. Interesting for an Hoyo de Monterrey.

1st third: The Short Hoyo Corona opens up mildly with a slight cream feeling to the smoke. I taste some crackers, some floral and herbaceous notes. Funny enough, there aren’t any of the pre-draw flavours in this opening act.

This cigar is evolving pretty rapidly and, I’ve got to say, pretty nicely. It sits a light body, I still have some crackers, some toasts but tones of woods have also come in. Light wood, oak wood if I had to guess. This is quite interesting. The flavours are not totally defined but yet clear at the same time. You can differentiate them but they are not sharp. This makes this cigar almost a little bland. Hopefully this will develop into something better.

The ash is light gray, almost white, like dirty snow. It has a medium consistency.

2nd third: This cigar’s body increased a little bit and now sits at light medium; that’s a good thing. The burn is slightly wavy. It needs some attention but nothing to bother me.

The creamy smoke is now gone, I am left with some toasts, wood and nuts. Very close to a toasted slice of that walnut bread I pick up from the local market. I taste some sweetness becoming more present after each puff. It is quite a good backdrop for the bread and nuts. I am really digging where this is going.

There is no acidity whatsoever. That’s nice. I would almost say this tastes like a cookie, a walnut cookie. Nice. The smoke is quite dry; it leaves a very short aftertaste. This nut cookie has now left. It didn’t last long enough. As if someone gave you a great homemade cookie and took the rest after your first bite. You want to have more but it’s gone. Deceiving!

This is a cigar to have with an espresso or drip coffee. It is a light morning cigar.

3rd third: We are at light medium. I am still sad the cookie idea crumbled (ha ha). The sweet undertones are gone. Flavours are now toast and tobacco. The change ups are pretty frequent but they don’t really bring anything new.

It has now reverted back to light body, tobacco, toast and slight wood feeling. This cigar is a bit on the bland side. This is kind of a boring last third. I could easily nub this cigar as it produces no bitterness, acidity or heat but the flavours are not worthwhile. To bed it goes.

Value : These are not amazing cigars and, in my opinion, are not worth a box purchase. I can definitely see how some people would have bought those for the lazy mornings but there are far better choices. El Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme, Trinidad Reyes and even a Partagas Short, just to name a few.

Overall Rating : Short Hoyo Corona was discontinued for a reason. It is a sub-par blend; it produces ordinary smoke and bland flavours as a whole. Besides the cool vintage band and good construction, this cigar had nothing to stand out. At the end of the day, the flavours are what makes or breaks a cigar. This one is broken.

Loved this post? Subscribe and win cigars!

As a subscriber, you won't miss our competitions and will be entered in our ongoing contest!

This post was written by Simon, a cigar aficionado from Montreal, Canada. Click here for his bio, latest articles and more information.